Are trucks and buses getting safer?

This study aims to establish trends in heavy vehicle safety in Australia across a broad timespan and in comparison to other vehicles, to ensure that research priorities and road safety strategies are appropriately based. While truck and bus crashes are a significant concern, the numbers involved are relatively low. Consequently, care must be taken in analysing trends, particularly as unusual results for any year may have a significant effect. In particular, 1988 and 1989 were particularly bad years for crashes involving articulated trucks. This means that care must be taken in comparisons involving these years. Published and unpublished data on the number of crashes, fatalities and serious injuries involving heavy vehicles have been collated from current databases. Current trends are compared to those found in major heavy vehicle safety studies undertaken in the late 1980s and early 1990s to help assess whether recent heavy vehicle safety initiatives have been effective. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E202275.